Laughter of Yesterday
by SilentVex
Summary: The world of our dreams allows us to revisit that which we love, that which we want and that which we have lost. The dreams of Mirajane Strauss are of no exception when she dreams of a day that will live on in her heart for all eternity.


**Author's notes: You Know what? I love Mira, I really do. She's sweet and caring, responsible and can step up and fight when the need arises. I've wanted to write a story for her for a while now and I'm proud to say that I think it turned out pretty damn... okay...-ish.. if one were being generous... and I had a four-leafed clover?  
**

**In all seriousness I really had fun this one and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. I really wanted to try and write something that would be able to make you guys laugh at points so it'll be interesting to see if that works.  
**

**As I mentioned in my AN of This Time I'll Protect You I will be doing a bit of explaining here, buuut I think I'll add that onto the end, I'll let you read this first.**

**-Vex out! (For now)**

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**Laughter Of Yesterday**

* * *

_**Magnolia – X781**_

_''If you fall in there I'm not going in after you, you know?''_

_''Oh Mira, you worry too much! I'll be fine.''_

_It was a beautiful, sunny day in the town of Magnolia. Being that it was mid-Autumn it was likely that this would be the last chance for the town to have nice weather before the looming winter arrived. The Harvest Festival had been and gone already so the townspeople had little in the way of big events until Christmas rolled around. The Strauss sisters on the other hand had plenty to keep themselves busy with today, seeing as it was their brother's birthday today._

_While Mirajane walked down the street – several bags held in each hand – as any normal person would, Lisanna had decided to make her walk a bit more exciting by balancing along the edge of the river which ran through Magnolia/_

_''I'm more worried about you dropping the food into the river than you to be honest... Just be careful Lisanna, okay?''_

_Lisanna giggled at her sister's inability to openly show concern for her. ''Aye sir!''_

_Mira sighed. ''You keep talking like that and I may have to ban you from being around Happy for a while...''_

_''Hehehe, I know you'd never do that sis.'' Lisanna poked her tongue out playfully. ''So how long do you think we've got until he gets back?''_

_''I don't know; we should have a while yet, so there's no reason to worry.'' Mira had left the majority of the planning for this birthday in Lisanna's hands. She thought that doing this would show her what it was like to be in charge of something important. Ever since their parents were killed, Mira had taken it upon herself to lead, and in a way raise her younger siblings, given that she was the eldest. _

_So far, to be honest, she was impressed – Lisanna seemed to be taking the whole thing I her stride._

_''I know! I know! I was just making sure. We were lucky that Shinn agreed to take him out on that job for us.''_

_''Not really. He's just a nice guy so of course he'd help us,'' Mira replied smiling. Said smile disappeared at he sister's sniggering. ''What's so funny?''_

_''Hehe, you liiiiike him~'' Lisanna sang teasingly in a very Happy-esque fashion.._

_''Wh-what the hell are you saying? I like him? No way!'' she denied, despite an obvious blush rising on her cheeks._

_''Fine then ~ you looooove him~!'' It wasn't the first time Mira had been teased about their friendship. Whenever the Take-over siblings didn't go out on a job together for whatever reason, usually it would be Shinn – Fairy Tail's resident Dark Magic user – who she would work with. Aside from her siblings, it was he who she got along with best in the guild; her punkish and, to be frank, abusive personality wasn't really 'friend material' to most people strangely enough._

_Needless to say this provided Lisanna with many opportunities to entertain herself at her sister's expense, not that Mira would let her get away with it._

_''Hmmm, perhaps I should really think about that Happy thing. He's starting to rub off on you in a bad way it seems.''_

_''Uwaa- wait, wait! I'll stop now.''_

_''Hmph, good girl,'' she said smugly. Yet another victory for Mira._

_From there it didn't take the pair long to reach their little family's home. It had been left to them following their parent's deaths. It was a bit on the large side compared many of the other houses in town, certainly too large for the three of them. The only reason they lived there was because the preferred to stay together as opposed to being separated between the gender-desigated dorms in which the mages could live. That and it seemed like a waste to not use it or just sell it on._

_Mira put down her right arm's load in order to fish out the key from her leather shorts._

_''Uh, sis?'' Mira looked up to Lisanna simply pushing open the front door with ease. ''We really need to replace this lock Mira.''_

_''I know I know,'' she sighed in response, giving up on the key and just stepped inside. 'I really need to get new pants too, these are getting too tight.' The thing about three teenagers living alone: it sometimes took a while for things to get done, be it house maintenance or shopping for new clothes to fit their ever growing bodies._

_''Right, so where do we start?'' Mira asked as she set down her bags on the kitchen counter._

_''Well, I guess... the cake?'' Her eyes were sparkling with hope, if there was one thing about birthdays that Lisanna loved more than any other, it would be the cake – or to be more exact, decorating the cake. Ever since she was young making food look pretty was what she loved most about cooking, especially as it was also what she excelled at; she would always dive in with more enthusiasm than anyone else when the opportunity arose. A few art lessons from Reedus and she had turned into quite the pro._

_''Alright, that sounds like a good plan to me. Then while it's in the oven we can get started on... crap!'' Mira smacked her palm into her forehead in frustration._

_''What's wrong?''_

_''We forgot the damn decorations! Damnit!''_

_''Sorry...'' Lisanna said, bowing her head._

_''No, it's not your fault I should have noticed. Guess I should go get some now.''_

_''Don't worry Mira, I'll do it.''_

_''It's fine, it'll be faster if I do it. While I'm gone...'' Mira was stuck making the tough decision of either telling Lisanna to wait until she returned or to get started on the cake, running the risk of something going wrong while she was out. ''While I'm gone, how about you get started? I'll only be 15 minutes – 20 at most.''_

_''Aye sir!'' Lisanna called, saluting. Rather than chastise her for the choice of words, Mira just shook her head and smiled as she left._

_'What could go wrong?'_

**Famous last words...**

_''Hey I'm- WHOA!'' _

_Mira dodged the projectile just in time as it splatted against the wall behind her. ''What was tha...at?''_

_''Ehehehe...'' Lisanna giggled sheepishly. ''Welcome back?''_

_''Lisanna... you...wha...how?'' The sight was such that words were inapplicable to the situation._

_''Calm down, I can explain.''_

_''Oh... please do...'' Mira's eye twitched involuntarily at the product of her sisters work. It had become less of cooking and more redecorating. Cake mixture was everywhere! The floor, the walls, the counter top; nowhere was spared from her diabolical attempts. In the sink was a pile bowls, whisks and whatnots balancing in a tower which reached halfway to the ceiling. It appeared so unstable that a gentle breeze could knock it over.  
_

_''It's impressive that you managed this much in such a short space of time... funny, I've never tried tabletop cake before,'' she mused, running a finger through the excessively runny attempt which had spread across one of the counters._

_''It's not my fault!''_

_''Is that righ-?'' _

_Mira stopped when she felt something dripping on her head. Slowly she tilted her head up and only had a moment to look at the ceiling before... _

_SPLAT!_

_Wiping over her eyes, she glared at Lisanna with a face caked in... well cake. ''Umm, oops?'' Seeing no harm in it, Mira licked the mix off her fingers and looked away._

_''Well... at least this one didn't turn out too bad...'' she commented._

_''You serious?! Yay!'' Lisanna cried, jumping for joy. It wasn't often that she got a compliment once someone had actually tasted her food._

_Mira snapped her head back at Lisanna, droplets of mixture flying off her face as she did so. ''That doesn't mean everything's okay! We've got a lot of work to do, starting with cleaning this mess!''_

_''Aye-''_

_''You finish that sentence and I swear the next failure is going on your face!''_

_With that, the sisters began the arduous task of cleaning the kitchen from every angle possibly. It really was incredible how she did so much in so little time. Together it didn't take too long to finish and finally get started._

_''You're saying you didn't even have the recipe with you?''_

_''I had this list of ingredients.''_

_''That was the shopping list! How did you expect to know what to do with them?!''_

_''Memory?''_

_''You've never done this right before!''_

_Under Mira's watchful eye Lisanna eventually managed to produce something that met her sister's expectations. They then moved on to the decorations._

_''This is getting ridiculous...''_

_''You're telling me...''_

_It turned out a new ladder was something else that the Strauss family needed to invest in also based on the rickety old thing they had managed to find._

_''Well, Plan B it is!''_

_''What's Plan B?''_

_''This!'' Wasting no time Mira built up a huge amount of magical energy in her back and sprouted her Satan Soul wings. Although it took more energy to perform a partial transformation of this kind, it got around the fact that Satan Soul could be a bit... smashy._

_''Now, let's get that banner up!''_

_Together they managed to make quick work of anything and everything on their to-do list. The house looked great, presents were wrapped and ready to be given, they were making good progress with the oddly large amount of food that Lisanna wanted to make and the cake had cooled and was ready for icing. Speaking of which..._

_''Lisanna, stop eating the icing!'' Mira ordered, lightly batting the wayward hand away._

_''But it tastes sooo good!''_

_''Mmm... you're right, it does,'' she agreed, sharing a conspiratorial smirk. The sisters giggled. Despite all the hard work, it was fun thanks to the fact that they were helping each other. They were enjoying themselves so much that they managed to lose track of the time._

_They were reminded that they were on a time limit when they heard the front door slam open and two male voices announcing their return._

_''I'm back!''_

_''And guess who's with him!''_

_The sound of a pair of running feet._

_''Hey Mi-''_

_''GET OUT! WE'RE NOT READY YET!''_

_''Gahhh!''_

_**Half an hour later...**_

_''So I get that you were still finishing up... but why did I have to get kicked? And in the face too!'' Shinn grumbled._

_''It was a spur of the moment thing – not my fault!''_

_''No, I get that. But why was I the ONLY one to get kicked?!''_

_''Well I can hardly attack my little brother on his birthday can I?''_

_''Oh? You didn't have any worries about picking a fight with Erza on hers. Or that time you tossed Gray into the lake on his. How about the time-''_

_''I get the picture, I'm sorry, all right?!''_

_Elfman and Lisanna shared a knowing look as they watched the pair bicker. The youngest Strauss clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. ''How about we get started? The food will start getting cold soon.''_

_''Sure, sounds good to me,'' Elfman said in agreement. _

_''Alright then, you and Shinn sit down and we'll bring it out!''_

_Five minutes of back and forth dish carrying and the dining table had literally no room to fit anything else. _

_''This is incredible you guys!'' Elfman exclaimed._

_''Yeah it is... although it might be a bit much for just the four of us...''_

_''A real man would eat it without whining! But I think you might be right.''_

_Mira walked back into the room with yet another dish in hand. ''Actually I was meaning to ask Lisanna about it earlier but I got a little... distracted.''_

_''How do you get distracted from all this?'' Shinn asked gesturing to the spread, his face a look of disbelief._

_''I have to agree sister.''_

_''You guys have no idea... and there's still more out there, it's like she wanted to feed a small army, or settle for eating leftovers for the rest of the month...''_

_Shinn's face morphed into one of mischief and he chuckled. ''So she hasn't told you yet?''_

_''Told me what?''_

_Suddenly there was a knock at the door. ''That'll be them!'' Lisanna called._

_''Who's 'them'?''_

_Her question was answered when a small blue cat flew into the room ''Wow, look at all the food!''_

_''Whoa! You're right there's loads!''_

_''Cool it flame brain, we're not just here to steal their food!''_

_''That's right, we were invited here for a reason, so both of you had better be polite!''_

_Mira looked like she was going to burst a blood vessel just from hearing that last voice in her house. Natsu and Gray burst into the room shouting 'Happy Birthday Elfman' which Happy added an 'Aye Sir' onto the end._

_''Thank you for inviting us Lisanna.''_

_''Oh it was my pleasure-'' the final newcomer stepped into the room and Lisanna was cut off._

_''Erza! What do you think you're doing in my house?''_

_''Your house? Why Mira, when Lisanna invited us to her and Elfman's home it never crossed my mind that you might live here too. I always thought you lived in the dump on the edge of town.'' Erza's grin was one of challenge, which Mira was all too willing to oblige._

_''Say that again you damn Amazon!''_

_''Gladly you dirty succubus!''_

_The pair continued to fight while Natsu and Happy were practically salivating over the spread before them, they were ready to dig in, only being held back by Lisanna. Gray had moved to Elfman and Shinn to engage them in conversation regarding the job they had just come back from._

_Slowly more and more people joined until what was just a dinner had turned into a full blown party complete with magic, a drinking contest organized by Cana and even fights in the street. Let it never be said that the mages of Fairy Tail don't know how to throw a party._

_The party lasted hours, well into the night with no end in sight so Mira found herself having to leave for a while to get some fresh air. She walked to a nearby bridge which crossed the river that ran through Magnolia and leant on the stone barrier. The sound of the flowing waters made a nice change to all the loudness she had been wrapped in for the past however many hours it had been._

_''Mind if I join you?'' She didn't have to look back to know who it was._

_''Why, hello Mr Double Agent. When were you planning on telling me what you and my sister had planned?''_

_Shinn laughed at his new name. ''Whenever she felt like revealing it, personally I think she did a great job organizing it all. She even managed to keep it a secret from you this whole time.''_

_''That she did.'' Mira smiled fondly, ''my little baby sister's growing up.''_

_''Hmph, no one stays a kid forever, you and I both know that.''_

_''You're not wrong there... thank you.''_

_''Huh?'' He sounded confused. ''What for?''_

_''For helping her arrange all this.''_

_''Oh, well, thank you for helping her with whatever it was you guys have been up to all day when you're not trying to kick my teeth out.'' The pair shared a good laugh over that. ''Listen, I need to get going, I have to talk to the Master about something. I'll try to get back later but if I can't tell Elf Happy Birthday from me, okay?''_

_''Don't worry I'll take care of it.''_

_''Great thanks,'' he turned, his travelling cape whipped behind him as he did so. ''See ya.'' he said raising one hand up. Mira watched his back as he walked away out of sight. With Shinn gone she decided it was time to rejoin the party she took a few steps but then stopped._

_''I know you're there.''_

_''You liiiike him ~''_

_Mira looked up where Lisanna was partially transformed, her arms turned into bird's wings. ''Come down here, there's something I want to say.''_

_Lisanna set down gracefully and reverted back to her original form. ''What is it Mi...ra?'' Her tone turned to one of shock when Mira pulled her into a tight hug._

_''You've done wonderfully,'' Mira whispered. ''I'm so, so proud of you.'' She held her younger sister close, stroking her hair as she did so. It wasn't every day that Mira would willingly show affection in such a way, so it meant a lot when she did._

_''Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you, Mira.''_

_Mira._

_Mira. Mira. Mira._

_Mi-Mira... M-M-M-M-MIRA! Mira._

_**Lisanna...**_

…

''...ngggh?''

Orange beams of light shone through the crack in the curtains, bombarding Mirajane Strauss' once-sleeping face. It took a few moments for her to realize that she was now back in the real world and, with a yawn, she threw off the duvet and slid out of bed. She clumsily drew open the curtains, revealing an early morning Magnolia in which the majority of the population would most likely still be sleeping.

Judging from the smell wafting through the air of the apartment her room mate was one of the minority. She smiled dumbly in recognition. 'Breakfast in bed would be nice but I'm awake now,' she thought as she walked to the door.

On her way she passed her full-body mirror and stepped back to take a look at herself. She was wearing a pair of black panties but other than that was completely in the nude and her hair had 'just woke up' written all over it. Upon closer inspection of her face she saw what she feared; her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were moist.

She had been crying in her sleep again...

She had grown used to it over what was nearly two years in a few months time. It had been that long since Lisanna had died... even now Mira couldn't stop the tears whenever she dreamt of her little sister.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks and practised smiling into the mirror. She did this whenever she woke up after such a dream; it had become a sort of ritual for her. It was just one of the things that got her through the pain.

''Today's gonna be a big day Lisanna, just you watch...''

* * *

**- Annnnnd Vex back!**

**Yup, if you've read some of my latest stories (namely Activation Energy, The Wandering Fairy and This Time I'll Protect You) you'll have seen that I had a nameless male mage appear in them and his name is - drum roll please! - Shinn! Just Shinn, nothing else (you'll see why in time).**

**I plan on writing a story based around him and his time in Fairy Tail but I wanted to ease into it a bit because I know how people can be when they just see an OC thrown into the mix. That's one of the reasons that I wrote these stories, aside from the fact that I actually wanted to write them. From my viewpoint I'm killing two birds with one stone here. ^_^**

**Anyway, Maybe I'll write another one or two stories in which I can introduce him to you a bit more but if not you'll all just have to wait and see when I start uploading his story.**

**I hope I'll see you there!**

**- Vex out (for realsies this time)**


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